HTC One review: great high-end Android matches, but can't beat the best. A good deal

HTC One review

The HTC One is beautiful Android smartphone that offers near-perfect performance. The HTC One's excellent build quality is dented only marginally by a slight tendency to run hot during our tests. Here's PC Advisor's HTC One review. Updated, 30 September 2013.

Specifications

Expert's Rating

OVERALL

BUILD QUALITY

FEATURES

VALUE FOR MONEY

PERFORMANCE

Price when reviewed

£449 inc VAT

HTC One review

The HTC One is the flagship Android smartphone from HTC. It has a vibrant and clear Full HD screen, quad-core processor offering high-end performance, and an intriguing Ultrapixel camera that promises better shots in low light. Software wise the HTC One runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with HTC Sense - not quite the latest Google OS, but very close to it. So how does the HTC One perform in a market that now includes Apple's new iPhones, the Galaxy Note 3 and the Xperia Z1?

HTC One review: UK price

SIM free you can pick up the 32GB varient of the HTC One for around £450 inc VAT. That's actually relatively cheap - the Xperia Z1 and Galaxy Note 3 cost just a smidgeon more (and perform a little better, as you'll find out below). It's much cheaper than buying outright an iPhone. Contract deals in which the handset is 'free' start at £27.50 a month and are available from all major operators including EE, Three, Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile. Again, that's pretty cheap for a top-quality smartphone. PAYG deals start at £449 inc VAT from T-Mobile, Orange, O2, Vodafone and Three.

HTC One review: the best Android phone?

The HTC One is part of a wider push by HTC to make itself known as a serious and stylish player at the top end of the smartphone market. As such you'll note that it has more a premium 'feel' than other great handsets such as the Sony Xperia Z and the Samsung Galaxy S4. That means that out of the box the HTC One looks and feels like something expensive and luxurious. Since the HTC One hit the market, however, we've reviewed several great new handsets including the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, the Note 3 and the Xperia Z1. Only the 5S of these has the same metallic finish as the HTC.

But remember that the aluminium from which the HTC One is constructed is both light and strong, but prone to picking up scratches. Like the iPhone 5 and Apple iPhone 5S the HTC One may require a case in order to protect it in pristine condition, and that's not something you could say about the Xperia or Galaxy phones, or other phones such as the Nokia Lumia 925 (and other Windows phones), and the BlackBerry Z10.

What is categorically the case is what we outline in this in-depth HTC One review: this is a great phone. It offers performance, features and build that only a handful of the best smartphones can.

HTC One review: Design and build quality

The new HTC One is a beautiful object. HTC says it has the best build quality of any phone on the market. It would. That is of course a subjective claim that cannot be proved or disproved. Let's say only this: in terms of the feel of the materials, and the way they fit together, we can name no smartphone that obviously bests the HTC One. It's like a bigger iPhone 5 with rounded edges, or a non-metallic Sony Xperia Z (without the flappy ports).

It is virtually all metal, aluminium in fact. Indeed the only part of the HTC One's shell that isn't obviously made of lightweight metal is the Gorilla Glass screen and a slim plasticky band that runs around the edge.

Like the iPhone 5 and Xperia Z the HTC One is also light for such a well-put-together device, yet it feels solid. HTC claims the new HTC One weighs 143g. According to the PC Advisor scales it is a much more significant 144g. But what's a gramme between colleagues? The key point is that it is big and solid, but surprisingly light. The iPhone 5 is a much lighter 112g, but the case in which I keep mine adds another 17g - this is a personal opinion, but I want to protect the iPhone, whereas the HTC feels like it could withstand the slings and arrows of life in my pocket unscathed. It's like the BlackBerry Z10 in that respect, only it feels like a much more desirable object. By contrast the Xperia Z1 weighs 170g, and the Note 3 168g. Both these phones are more plastic in construction, of course.

The Sony Xperia Z is probably the closest matched device in terms of size, shape and want-me coolness - that phone is marginally thinner at its widest point: 7.9mm as opposed to the HTC One's 9.45mm. But both weigh almost exactly the same. The Xperia Z1 is 8.7mm and the Note 3 8.3mm. These are both big screen phones, so the HTC One is arguable wider than it ought to be.

Like the Xperia Z1, the HTC One is perfectly balanced. That weight and size isn't a problem - it fits neatly into my trouser pocket. One minor down side is that the display isn't quite edge to edge, although the bezel is far from huge.

We have to point out the all-aluminium back. We wanted to be sceptical after HTC made such claims for the design and build of the new HTC One, but this sheet of brushed metal is the finishing touch on a beautifully put together device. This is a shiny precious thing you will want to have and hold.

There is one caveat, however. As I was testing the HTC One the back got hot to the touch. Not too hot to hold, but enough to make me worry about its long-term health. I was running benchmarks at the time which put enormous strain on the components, but it's not something you like to feel. (We've read reports elsewhere of this phenomenon, so it is an important consideration.)

We continue our new HTC One review with a look at its impressive display, and audio visual playback capabilities.

HTC One review: Performance, specs and benchmarks

We normally start with a smartphone's design and build, but we have to talk about the HTC One's performance, because when first we tested it, the HTC One was the fastest phone we have tested. That is no longer the case, but the HTC has nothing to be ashamed of. Read: HTC One mini vs HTC One comparison review.

Straight out of the box it feels zippy. And there is good reason for that. The HTC One combines a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600, quad-core, 1.7GHz processor with 2GB DDR2 RAM. It aced our GeekBench 2 synthetic performance benchmark, turning in an average score of 2721 points. At the time of testing this was a record: to put that into perspective the previous record holder was the Nexus 4 with a speedy 2009 points. The Sony Xperia Z - no slouch itself - scores 1986, and the iPhone 5 1650. None of those phones is slow, so you can see just how fast is the HTC One. Unfortunately it is no longer our record holder, having been superceded by several phones. These include the Note 3 (4057), and the Sony Xperia Z1 (3673). See also: iPhone 5 vs HTC One comparison review.

The good times continue when we tested graphics performance in our GLBenchmark HD framerate benchmark. The new HTC One smashed that test, too, turning in a top quality score of 34fps. That's not quite top of the shop - the iPhone 5 achieved a massive 38fps, and the Nexus 4 39fps. More recently we've seen better scores from the iPhone 5S (53fps), Xperia Z1 (53fps) and the record goes to the Galaxy Note 3 (54fps). What that bewildering array of stats actually means is this: the HTC One is one of a few phones that offer stunning graphics performance, although it has been considerable bettered since it launched.

In the SunSpider 2 test that measures JavaScript performance the HTC One is again close to the best. Our current gold standard is the iPhone 5S with a blink and you'll miss it time of 417ms. The HTC One can't get close to this with an average score of 1213ms. By contrast the Xperia Z1 and Note 3 are again the stellar performers, getting close to the latest iPhone with scores of 738ms and 589ms. Web browsing and Javascript performance on the new HTC One is swift and snappy - just not best ever.

In terms of storage you will have a choice of 32GB or 64GB. Sadly there is no expandable storage. There's an internal GPS antenna, GLONASS and a digital compass, as well as a gyro sensor, accelerometer, proximity sensor, and ambient light sensor. In terms of connectivity you get a 3.5mm stereo audio jack, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi and a micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link.

HTC One review: Audio and media

With a built-in amplifier, Beats Audio and two front-facing speakers the HTC One delivers a big sound with or without headphones. And in the box you get a pair of surprisingly decent in-ear headphones. They are black and red in a style suspiciously like Beats phones, although they are not those. HTC has equipped the HTC One with what it calls studio-quality sound with Beats Audio. In our tests the bundled headphones combined with the HTC One's audio subsystem provided a sound that is clear and well-rounded (we often find Beats branded audio to be over bassy).

In the demonstrations we saw - or heard - at the HTC One launch the dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers delivered a decent sound in a reasonably sized room full of people. It's not like having a proper soundbar, but the handset alone will suffice in plenty of social occasions, which is saying something. (What is less socially acceptable is the marketing term HTC has appended to this audio set up: 'BoomSound'. Give me strength.)

The music player software has also been given a revamp. In essence you can see the lyrics while music plays. Which is, you know, nice. We saw this and can confirm that it works as advertised. It's not a deal-breaker for me, but I used to buy my CDs and tapes from Our Price, so it's possible I'm not the desired demographic.

In terms of making calls there's an HDR microphone and what HTC calls 'Sense Voice'. These features should make voice call quality better. We made a couple of calls that sounded good to both sides - but that's the case with all high-end smartphones, isn't it?

One little upgrade we did like the idea of, is the combination of infrared hidden in the power button and HTC Sense that allows you to use your HTC One as a TV remote. This may cause marital break down in homes with multiple HTC phones, of course, but it also offers a kind of EPG for finding programs.

The TV app is fairly simple to set up, simply select which devices you which to control and which manufacturer they are made by. You're then given test buttons until it works. We got it working with a Philips TV but failed with the TalkTalk YouView box.

We like the EPG guide but the other sections promoting what programmes are on are confusion and the on demand section cheekily tries to persuade you to buy films on HTC Watch. It's nothing amazing but handy when you've lost the remote control.

HTC One review: display

The HTC One's 4.7in Super LCD 3 display has the highest pixel density of any phone I have seen, or indeed any smartphone PC Advisor has tested. This Full HD 1080p display crams 468 pixels into every inch. That stat is incredible and almost meaningless. Suffice to say it is sharp.

It's razor sharp - not quite as colourful as the SuperAMOLED displays sported by the top Samsung handsets, but brilliant at rendering details in photos and video even under the stip lights of a room with no natural light. Viewing angles are good - a couple of people could probably watch a movie together at a push. The touchscreen is very responsive, too.

HTC One review: Camera

With the HTC One, HTC makes a bold move to redefine what we should expect from a smartphone camera. It's trying to get away from the megapixels arms race and focus on larger pixels in order to allow for greater light absorbtion. Or, to put it another way, it has only a 4Mp camera at the rear and a 2.1Mp, 88 degree wide angle lens with HDR capability at the front. I'm tipping my hat to HTC for getting away from the ludicrously large sensors now packed into phones. There are many more important parts to a camera than the sensor.

But is it any good? The short answer is yes: this is a decent smartphone camera. The faster sensor means you can quickly capture shots - critical for a smartphone snapper. And there are good options: you can change exposure and contrast, tweak ISO levels and adjust sharpness. There's also an HDR mode, but you don't get the shot-selection modes offered by other high-end phones, however.

Pictures taken were pretty good: occasionally noisy which we didn't expect from a camera with such a low pixel count, but good in low-light conditions. It's not a camera for serious photographers, but it will let you take multiple decent snaps in a timely fashion - even in a dingy bar.

We've included some photo and video below, but it is also worth pointing out that HTC says the camera is best at shooting images that are then viewed on the HTC One's screen.

HTC has added some interesting software features to its camera that seem compelling. Following BoomSound into the Ministry of Silly Names is 'HTC Zoe', which captures an HD video every time you take a photo by grabbing an image 0.6 seconds before you press the shutter button, and then capturing info for three seconds afterwards. The images and videos from a given event are then stitched together on the fly in order to create an up to 30-second video which you can export as a MPEG4. Expect to see a lot of this on Facebook.

HTC One test shots

Test video clip

Here's a shot taken in very low light (under my desk). Click the images to enlarge them.

These two are on the street outside our office. Again, click to enlarge.

We made a super quick Zoe and it is very easy to use.

HTC One review: Software and setup

The new HTC One runs Android 4.1.2 with full access to the Play Store for apps and media, but it is heavily customised with HTC Sense and a new content-flow feature. In additon to HTC Zoe, the silly names just keep on coming.

As part of the relatively simple HTC Sense interface, now upgraded to Sense 5.0, HTC has introduced a new service called BlinkFeed. Sense is part of all HTC phones, and makes the Android experience clean and simple - although it is very different to a traditional Android interface. I like it, but it is a personal thing.

BlinkFeed offers a cascading flow of all updates and media similar to the Hub in BlackBerry 10 or Windows Phone 8's messages feed.

With BlinkFeed the HTC One delivers tiles of all of your favourite information, social and media feeds, allowing you to see everything that is going on in your life, the lives of your 'friends', and in the world. All in 30 seconds or so.

Honestly, I found BlinkFeed nothing but annoying. I can see what HTC is thinking, but for me it is just too much. Open up your phone and it is there, throwing information at you whether you want it or not. Your opinion may differ, of course. You can't delete it but you can set up your phone in such a way as you rarely see it. And HTC is promising to sign up all manner of media owners, publishers and software developers to populate this feed with compelling content.

The initial setup process is slick, but may feel intrusive to some. When you first use the HTC One you are pushed into synching various social and email accounts, and selecting your news preferences, via a web app on your PC. It's the slickest setup of an Android phone I have experienced - all your contacts and accounts on your device within a couple of minutes. But it does feel unavoidable, and it is possible you may not want to be tied into all of your accounts in this way.

HTC One review: Battery life

After a period of 24 hours of moderate use, the HTC One had around 30 percent battery remaining. It's an acceptable effort in the sense that smartphones typically only last a day of use and need to be charged overnight. That's not to say we don't want more, we do.

It's worth pointing out that the HTC One's 2300mAh battery is non-removable.

HTC One: Specs

4.7 inch, Full HD 1080p, 468 PPI

Qualcomm Snapdragon 600, quad-core, 1.7GHz

Android with HTC Sense, HTC BlinkFeed

32GB/64GB, available capacity varies

2 GB DDR2 RAM

Internal GPS antenna + GLONASS, Digital compass

Gyro sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor

3.5mm stereo audio jack

NFC

Bluetooth 4.0

Wi-Fi

micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link

HTC BoomSound

Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers

Studio-quality sound with Beats Audio

HDR Microphone

Sense Voice

HTC UltraPixel Camera

137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm

143g

4.7 inch, Full HD 1080p, 468 PPI

Qualcomm Snapdragon 600, quad-core, 1.7GHz

Android with HTC Sense, HTC BlinkFeed

32GB/64GB, available capacity varies

2 GB DDR2 RAM

Internal GPS antenna + GLONASS, Digital compass

Gyro sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor

3.5mm stereo audio jack

NFC

Bluetooth 4.0

Wi-Fi

micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link

HTC BoomSound

Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers

Studio-quality sound with Beats Audio

HDR Microphone

Sense Voice

HTC UltraPixel Camera

137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm

143g

OUR VERDICT

The HTC One is up there with the very best smartphones on the market today. It has superb performance, and excellent build quality spoiled only slightly by running hot in use. You can't fault the feature set, and it matches the other high-end products in terms of price. In terms of audio and visual output it is unsurpassed. The interface might be an acquired taste for some, and we weren't overly impressed with the camera. It's not perfect, but alongside the Xperia Z and iPhone 5 this is about as good a phone as you can buy.

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,It's good that your phone still works well. But running hot is not generally a good sign.

bella said: Comments,bella,Rubbish. My HTC sensation also had metal back and also ran hot it's made of metal what do you expect? That phone more than 2 years later is used daily by my partner. Still has orginal battery. Still warms up. Still running perfect. I would like to see evidence that this is a 'concern' why is it? Doesn't affect performance. On a cold day it's perfect :)

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,'There is no such thing as heat', you say. Good on you. I just consulted three dictionaries, all of which include multiple definitions of 'heat', one of which is a noun referring to the state of a body defined as having or generating a high degree of warmth. That will do for me, but I admire someone who makes a bonkers argument with conviction.

Lauren said: Comments,Lauren,There is no such thing as heat; heat is the transfer of thermal energy. Get your vocabulary straight.

djinn123 said: Comments,djinn123,LOL. Where did you go? Probably went to get your paycheck from Samsung. Haha!

bill said: Comments,bill,I recently bought this phone and itgot so hot i had to put it down when i came back i saw my wife ironing my shirt with it

budie912! said: Comments,budie912!,it really kills me how people keep knocking this phone about its not for serious photographers. really? what phone is? if youre a serious pic guy you probably have a really expensive camera. what all of these phones are capable of is just incredible. some of the shots i take with my htc one are amazing. and ive had higher mp phones before. i could show you some pics that you wouldnt believe were even taken with the one or a phone period. look back at what we used to have for cameras in our phones and what we get the privilege of using now and stop being so god damn ridiculous. and to the runnning hot?! it gets slightly warm when you push it as does every single piece of tech we use today but guess what for the build quality and perfect never slowing performance of this smartphone how the hell can you complain? this phone should receive a 10/10 5/5 whatever anyone should consider a perfect score. be grateful the nice folks at htc has blessed us with this piece of marvelous tech. ive owned it since day one and still every day i pick it up to use i stare and drool. THANK YOU HTC FOR FINALLY GETTING IT RIGHT.

Louie Kulla said: Comments,Louie Kulla,Android is like windows… you'll get hit by virus nearly everyday… repairs and maintenance...and when that happens??? there's no HTC store near you to help you..immediately..

Htc obe user said: Comments,Htc obe user,I have an htc one.. It gets hot when i use youtue or use it for browsing as well.. The thing is when i get a call mostly i don't hear the person im talking to clearly.. Does any one has the same problem?

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,HTC refers to it as an 'ultrapixel camera', but it's a 4Mp sensor.

Michael Nolan said: Comments,Michael Nolan,harsh, but true to a point. don't lower yourself to that kind of conversation. you seem to be more intelligent than some. p.s. check your spelling and grammar.

Michael Nolan said: Comments,Michael Nolan,nice edit on the spelling of aluminum, and yes totally different. in respect to the spelling, one is British and the other American. as for the feel of the materials, of course where they meet together they will not be 100% perfect unless they were fused together. if that is the only thing, (besides the heat transfer, aluminum just doing what it does best) that people can find wrong with the HTC One, they need to find another subject to pick apart. my opinion; 5 stars is an understatement. own it, love it.

JUST ME said: Comments,JUST ME,THIS IS THE CASE I GOT FOR MY HTC ONE FROM T-MOBILE http://www.t-mobile.com/access...

JUST ME said: Comments,JUST ME,I DID THAT TO DROPPED MINE ON CEMENT BUT TO MY SUPRISE NO BROKEN SCREEN SO I BOUGHT THE TEAM- MOBILE CASE FOR IT HAS A PULL OUT STAND . PROBLEM SOLVEDPS FOR AN EMERGENCY CASE I ALSO USE A OLD GLASSES CASE IS TALL ENOUGH AND PROTECTS IT QUITE WELL

handyphone said: Comments,handyphone,I have an iphone 5 and an HTC One and use both. The iphone 5 has never run hot. The HTC One can get almost painfully hot under some conditions. However, I bought a think transparent plastic shell for the back of the htc one and this helps enormously, doesn't add much to the size and feels great. I have an S$ (I get these for work) and it also gets hot below the camera. Android phones wiht higher speced processors seem prone to heating problems. The Xperia Z was similiar at times.

Al said: Comments,Al,Kevin, Ian is 100% correct...the clue in English is the 'Engl' - England/UK - the source???? lol....cue tedious shake of head

Store For Sales said: Comments,Store For Sales,It's among my to 5 list of best selling smartphones on Amazon
http://newkindlefirehd.blogspo...

JUST ME said: Comments,JUST ME,TO ME KNOWING THE IPHONE5 HAS NO FLASH PLAYER AND SAMSUNG DON'T SUPPORT FLASH NOR DOES ANY OF THE IPHONES! SO NO GALAXEY S SERIES HAVE FLASH THAT WAS ONE INSENSITIVE FOR THE SHARPNESS OF THE TRUE 1080 HD SCREEN SMOOTH SCROLLING ON WEATHER CAN ADD AS MANY LOCATIONS AS YOU WISH AND IS SPOT ON TO THE LOCATION YOU ARE IN IF THERE WAS A 5***** STAR PHONE THIS IS IT!

JUST ME said: Comments,JUST ME,first off how many of you own the HTC ONE? here is the real deal every phone gets warm when you have a 1.7 processor that can bring up a web page in 2 sec or less the same with a hole page if imiges a phone that allows you to have any app you desire from apple to droid and more... allows you to download any app for androide you find and run it.. enjoy thousands of internet radio stations local and around the world game play on a true HD 1080 SCREEN TO MATCH ITS HD 1080 CAMERA HAS ADOBE FLASH AND CAPABILITY HAS BEATS AUDIO ON TO FRONT MOUNTED STEREO SPEAKERS when turned all the way up you hear NO DISTORTION GPS THAT GETS YOU TO WERE YOU NEED TO GO WITHOUT THAT "REDIRECTING " CRAP AND IN NORMAL MODE ON THE CAMERA GIVES YOU MANY SETTINGS THE IPHONE5 DOES NOT!! A LARGER BATTERY THEN THE IPHONE 5 THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING TO THIS PHONE IM STILL LEARNING ONLY WEAKNESS IS GET A RUBBER CASE I DROPPED MINE FROM POCKET LEVEL ON TO CONCRETE IT DENTED THE ALUMINUM CORNER THAT'S IT!!! NO SCREEN SHATTER THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING OW AND IT CAN DO NO LIMIT VIDEO IF YOU WISH FOR AS LONG AS YOU WISH!!!

Quint Wentworth said: Comments,Quint Wentworth,iPhones are only good because so many people say they are good. Word-of-Mouth advertising has led to the perpetuation of the "iPhone Fad." I believe soon others will see that there are extremely better smartphones and operating systems on the market.

kevin said: Comments,kevin,Wow,don't belittle says the person that goes out of their way to do something they have never before done in their life to insult someone by directly calling them a name. I would rather accidentally be a ignorant as oppose to intentionally being a hypocrite.

yeah said: Comments,yeah,that is only reconfirming what the previous poster said. I am in school for engineering...

Jean Michaels said: Comments,Jean Michaels,I never reply to these posts . However, your post was an excellent overview of the HTC. I love the HTC. I have an LG and IPhone as well. Let's put all bs aside, the HTC does get warmer with moderate use. I agree with you that is a consideration - not a deal breaker for an excellent product. Can everyone now put this issue to bed and discuss the operating system, what unique things the phone can do, the superior sound and some pointers on how to best take advantage of these features?

Sam said: Comments,Sam,Hi Frndz....i,m bit confuse about galaxy s4 and htc one.next week i m going to buy one of this phone..so please help me out,that what should i buy...hope with good and fast replay...:)

Simon M said: Comments,Simon M,I was just looking through phone reviews trying to decide what to buy, as my work supplied Blackberry Curve is crap at most things especially the camera.
But reading this I have to say "come on guys, calm down!", why is everyone so childish and picking little bits out of everything each other has said?
Get a life, who cares about these stupid little digs at each other, about how heat conducts or whether you have never had a problem with the phone you have had, or if it doesn't have an addon SD slot, 32 GB is fine for me and is more than some other phones starter sizes.
I just want to read about the good and bad points of a phone, read the same about other phones and at the same time I will bear in mind that the reviewer has an iPhone, so his words may or may not be biased, but you know what.. I really don't care! because I'm an adult and can read several reviews from different sources and make up my own mind about what I want, not what I am told I want.
Whether the result is 1/5 or 5/5, it is the details of each device and what it can or can't do that I care about, if it does what I want but is hot or has a crap camera, then I have to weigh that up against the other phones.
I am personally very anti-Apple by the way, just my opinion, so wouldn't buy an iPhone even if it is good, as I don't like the monopoly and locking you into the Apple way or the highway type ethos and the whole superiority attitudes of iSheep and how great they think they are and individual - even though they are just following all the other iSheep that have been brainwashed into thinking they need the latest Apple device every time one comes out:-) sorry for that rant, couldn't help it and only having a laugh;-)
In saying that, I have friends with iPhones and they like them as they do what they want, so everyone buy what you like, but stop being so rude to reviewers who are just doing their job, you don't have to agree with them and they don't email you at your work and disagree with everthing you do or say:-)
Shame the camera quality looks so bad with the HTC in this review, as this is a beautiful looking phone - as is the Xperia, (I personally think both look nicer than the iPhone), the Galaxy S4 and Nexus look too much like the iPhone and bland, so with a better camera this really would be the "one" for me, hehe no pun intended:-)
Now I had got to this point in my typing...."I think I will have to compromise now, as I want a phone with a decent camera to take photo's of my little baby boy when out and about, I think this HTC looks and sounds great and I really wanted it, but after looking at these example photo's and video - I think I'm going to have to go for the Xperia that I didn't really want, because I don't really want such a large screen."
But while typing I've just read this review herehttp://www.engadget.com/2013/0...the sample shots taken there seem better and clearer than on this review, so as I like the look of this phone so much I guess I'm just going to have to walk into a store and look over it myself to decide if the camera is good enough:-)
I have a laptop, computer and tablet for other things, I just need a phone that is used as a "phone" when I'm out and about, in that I mean I want to call and text people occassionally and take an occassional nice photo of my son, that's it, I don't need a phone to hold my entire life on that I can't pry out of my hands or look away from!
Personally I think the HTC looks like a great phone and if it gets warm so what, I just won't spend my time using it all day like some of you do....
Now grow up guys, stop having a go at the reviewer and be nice to each other!

Anon said: Comments,Anon,The fact that you state "I'm not on 4G, although I'm not sure why that would make a difference" automatically denounces your credibility to this issue. 4G taxes the battery more than a 3G/EvDO connection, which causes the battery to operate at a higher temperature. That would be one explanation as to why your iPhone has never ran hot.

blackdogdisc said: Comments,blackdogdisc,It's a beautiful device, and I applaud HTC for pushing the standards a lot farther than Samsung. The stereo forward-facing speakers seem great. BUT, under 5" screen AND no expandable memory (microSD) coupled with a mediocre 32 gigs on board (nominal- in actuality it's significantly less) ...that's not a winning combination. I carry 30 gigs of music alone- since I don't want to stream everything from the cloud. If this thing had microSD and a 5-5 1/2" screen, it would be terrific.

imaginarynumber said: Comments,imaginarynumber,I think the point he was making is that we, the public, have been told by Apple and the press that aluminium is somekind of expensive, superior, premium material. The suggestion being that "plastics are cheap and nasty".To the best of knowledge, carbon fibre is more of a premium priced material, stronger and lighter than the stuff used to make coke cans, yet reviewers continue to give higher design points to metal cased items.

BillJohnOnline999 said: Comments,BillJohnOnline999,Many people said HTC One is better than Samsung GS4

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,I think one of us is drunk, Gucci. And I know I am not.
You're entitled to your opinion. I just wonder why you feel the need to be so rude?

Gucci said: Comments,Gucci,@Matt Egan I've said this before on your previous "Buy Samsung over HTC" article..you're a waste. Don't write about HTC if you don't know what you're talking about. First of all HTC used part metal in phones way before the iPhone. The iPhone is just a coating of aluminium. Second of all it does heat, but not as much because it refuses to work when it gets go a point. The build quality is 5/5 say no more. Matt Egan you're drunk.

Rob Paul said: Comments,Rob Paul,It's a rubbish phone. Build quality and quality control by HTC are in my experience, shockingly bad.Had 2 sets and both suffered the catastrophic flaw of failing to provide a clear phone call experience. Instead, it was like the other person was talking on a Walkie Talkie (every word had an annoying hiss)...that kind of flaw should have been spotted at the test level because other people clearly raving about the phone don't seem to suffer from it. I think it's a more widespread problem than many want to admit...1/5 - 2 sets with poor build quality and failed to provide a better phone call experience than a walkie talkie.

tony okoro said: Comments,tony okoro,Why is that HTC fanboys refuse to abide any criticism of the One. Such desperados. Not everyone thinks it's the second coming of Christ you know.

Lili said: Comments,Lili,Great phone, but I think the design was inspired (or copied) from Sony Xperia P. Like what I thought about their Windows phone also inspired by Nokia Lumia. IMO

edgard said: Comments,edgard,good news Mad
if the working temperature of the device is 29°c is nece, completly diferent form the previous model.
by the way I am sure you will never put the ears on the hot engine of the porche

The Mad Duke said: Comments,The Mad Duke,I do already have a program that does give me the temperature. I had taken the device off charge 5 minutes ago and the device was actually cold. Its now currently running at 29 degrees which is good.
I really dont know what the fuss is about, I had a galaxy S2 which ran much hotter that this. Also key point I would of expected the HTC One it to feel hotter because it is heyho... made of metal. Ironically it doesnt for me at least.
Im afraid its cased closed in my personal experience, besides I wouldnt buy a porche and do 187mph on the autobahn and then complain the engine is hot!!?? just baffles me this issue.

edgard said: Comments,edgard,hi Mad Duke
I had the previos model HTC ONE X, it got realy hot, I had to return to the store, the phone easily reach more than 50°c after 5 minutes of taking photos or watching an excel.
well I am planning to buy the HTC ONE, bu I am afraid to find this problem again, could you instal the app to control the procesor and batery temperature and let us the temperature reached.
please do that

edgard said: Comments,edgard,hi MATT, I had the previos model HTC ONE X, it got realy hot, I had to return to the store, the phone easily reach more than 50°c after 5 minutes of taking photos or watching an excel.
well I am planning to buy the HTC ONE, bu I am afraid to find this problem again, could you instal the app to control the procesor and batery temperature and let us the temperature reached.
please do that

edgard said: Comments,edgard,hi Jay, I had the previos model HTC ONE X, it got realy hot, I had to return to the store, the phone easily reach more than 50°c after 5 minutes of taking photos or watching an excel.well I am planning to buy the HTC ONE, bu I am afraid to find this problem again, could you instal the app to control the procesor and batery temperature and let us know how or until what increase.please do that

matt said: Comments,matt,not always the case. For example, go feel a radiator that has been turned off for quite some time in your house somewhere, now feel something else nearby; notice how the radiator feels colder? well its not, its at room temperature, that material just loses heat much more quickly to your hand; hence why it's a good radiator.

foodess said: Comments,foodess,I've had my HTC One for 2 weeks to review and I love it - it takes gorgeous photos that blow my iphone out of the water. I especially love the macro effect. I'm giving one away right now on my blog!! http://bit.ly/12jDxiP (You can see the pictures it takes there, too).

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,The former is possibly true, the latter definitely isn't. It is a really good handset.

Jay said: Comments,Jay,You are chatting rubbish. I have an htc one since launch. Never gets hot in use. You probably tested a faulty one or you just want to find a flaw.

ian said: Comments,ian,I have actually never commented on one of these forums in my life until I seen your stupid comment trying to belittle someone else when you obviously have no clue. Aluminium and aluminum are moat definitely the same material they are different spellings of British and American origin coming from the mineral Alumina. Read a book idiot.

Michael Noel said: Comments,Michael Noel,I ordered mine last week, but yesterday the AT&amp;T store had one and they let me play around with it for nearly 2 hours. It's staggering how much more beautiful this phone is than anything you see in pictures/videos. In your hand, it feels like its about 5mm thick and not the 9+mm that it is in the center. You hold this thing with your fingers and don't even notice that it's larger in the back curves. But from a pure design point of view (I've been in the design field for over 30 years) this is easily the most beautiful product design of it's type since the iPhone 5. As for blinkfeed, it's easily made into a secondary home screen but it is a very nice little feature as well. The screen was stunning and I was watching some of the Masters yesterday which looked better than my 47 inch HDTV!

Michael Noel said: Comments,Michael Noel,So what makes that un perfect? Maybe they designed it that way! My car has a few sharp edges as well, as does my computer, and just about everything else. I played with this phone at AT&amp;T yesterday for 2 hours and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the build of this beauty. It's easily the best designed phone out there since the iPhone 5. And it's aluminum not aluminium. Those are two completely different materials.

Mr Mistoffelees said: Comments,Mr Mistoffelees,"Sign, another reviewer with no knowledge on even basic material science. FYI Aluminium is one of the softer and weaker and cheapest metal around."
Do you seriously think they would use pure aluminium and not a stronger and harder alloy?

hohopig said: Comments,hohopig,mmm from what I saw of other review, less than standard unless you only view it over the dinky screen of the phone or a small screen laptop. Once you expand the photo to even just a 17 inch HD display, the lack of details is very evident.

hohopig said: Comments,hohopig,hope you had a casing over it by then?

hohopig said: Comments,hohopig,or refund. if they can't change for you.

hohopig said: Comments,hohopig,Sign, another reviewer with no knowledge on even basic material science. FYI Aluminium is one of the softer and weaker and cheapest metal around. So it is a stretch to call it premium.
And plastic composites has come a long way with properties that rival metals. While I doubt that Samsung would actually use the top range expensive composites, experiences and reviews does seems to shows that the composites used are more scratch proof and tough than Aluminium, which are prone to dents and scuffing.
So until they come up with a phone that actually used stainless/high speed tool steel for the casing, save it with the so called premium build.

The Mad Duke said: Comments,The Mad Duke,Ive been using my HTC ONE continually since I bought it a few weeks ago. Not only does it not overheat it is actually cool to touch. Temperature does raise slightly when charging sometimes but nothing worth mentioning.
Great phone, although I have dropped it onto concrete slab already :/

amont said: Comments,amont,Actually, when something feels hot it means that the something you are touching is at a higher temperature than your hand, it will of course loose heat to the cooler surface as both surfaces attempt to come to an ambient temperature.

tannercarter said: Comments,tannercarter,HTC is one of the best brand one can have and the HTC one has proved it again.
seo new jersey

tommo1115 said: Comments,tommo1115,Ready for an upgrade,currently using the iPhone 4,how does the htc camera compare with the iPhone 4.

Mick Gasson said: Comments,Mick Gasson,For those of you that don't understand When something feels hot it is because it is losing heat to your hand and therefore your hand is gaining heat When something feels cold it is because your hand is losing heat I've had my ONE for over a week now and only warms up when using full power ie movies or high end gaming however I would not describe the sensation as uncomfortable in fact it was quite pleasing on a cold day lolAs for build quality the edges of my phone are smooth and meet seemlessly with the polycarb filler the phone feels solid and does not creak when firm pressure is applied All reviews and ratings are relative to the user compared with other phones I've had and to other tech I own I rate my ONE as 11/10

April said: Comments,April,sounds like you should send in your phone to change

Chris said: Comments,Chris,My iphone5 is hot when I run apps and Internet all the time. I do run 4g but have no idea if that makes a difference.

Cod33free said: Comments,Cod33free,looks like the one is #1 for me. :-)

Marc said: Comments,Marc, I already got my HTC One and i can tell you, that the build quality isn't perfect: you can felld that the edges resp. the transitions on the sides (where the alluminium meets polycarbonate) arent perfect. On some corners you actually feel "sharp" aluminium edges. Furthermore the transition between the alluminium and the screen is not even. On my device, the left side of the screens upper end sticks out where the right side nicely "fits" into the alluminium. The Iphone has better build quality but the HTC One is by far the better phone.

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,Yes. It's amazing to look at and hold. Beautifully put together. But it runs hot. Very good, not perfect.

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,Unless something has gone very wrong I changed it on Saturday morning.

batongxue said: Comments,batongxue,Then why is that still the same old?You quit?

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,Possibly. And I am concerned that this is becoming the main theme of our discussion of what is an excellent phone. It's a subjective opinion - all I am saying is it would concern me if I owned one.
Matt

Bob Rob said: Comments,Bob Rob,Unless you were able to quantitatively measure the operating temperature of the phone's components, I'd be wary to say that its operating temperature is a concern in regards to the phone's long-term health. Aluminum is a better conductor of heat than plastic like the previous commenter said. This means even with the same temperature on the hot side, aluminum will feel hotter than plastic. I would call it a flaw in terms of comfort in usage of the device rather than something that is detrimental to its longevity.

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,You're entitled to feel that way, and I'm sure you are far from alone. It's a great phone. But 5/5 would mean perfect build and the fact it runs so hot, all the time, means it is less than perfect.

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,That's interesting. It's not something I've ever experienced. For full disclosure I use am iPhone 5 all the time and it's literally never run hot (I'm not on 4G, although I'm not sure why that would make a difference). The HTC is hot all the time, in my experience. These are my experiences. If that makes me naive, I'm naive. (Hint: it doesn't make me naive.)

Kindi said: Comments,Kindi,I reckon its 5/5 for build quality. Nothing else comes close to this phone for build quality. With 1.7GHz speed there will be some heat dissipation. I'd rather have a phone that gets warm than a phone with a lame processor ahhmm.. iphone ;)

Josh said: Comments,Josh,My iphone 5 heats up pretty good when i'm streaming through 4G, to say it doesn't heat up at all is just plain naive

Ten said: Comments,Ten,My sg2 gest stupidly hot and I've had it 2 years and its till going strong. Just ordered the htc one though. It looks stunning.

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,I would say that the iPhone 5, Xperia Z and HTC One are head and shoulders above all the other smartphones out there, with the Galaxy S4 likely to join that group (I haven't tested one as yet). Personally I'd go for the Xperia, but they are all great.

Matt said: Comments,Matt,Good to see a journalist actually replying to feedback on an article. Quick question Matt; I've had iPhones since the 3G and am currently on the 5. I'm getting bored of it and was waiting to see what the S4 was like. Unfortunately it has a plastic back so I won't buy it - would you recommend switching from the iPhone 5 to the HTC One, and would it be a better choice than the Xperia Z?

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,It's a theory. It's not a theory I buy, but it's a theory.
Even if the metal is deliberately conducting heat, it's not dissipating it: the phone is hot, therefore the components are running hot, and that's bad for the long-term health of the phone. (It also makes it uncomfortable to hold.) If it's a design feature, it's a dumb one. But it's not, as we know. It's a flaw in the build quality. The HTC One is far from the first phone principally constructed from metal - the iPhone 5 is one. And the iPhone never gets hot in use. You are right: I'm not making this up.

Commenter1 said: Comments,Commenter1,Haha, incredible. The back is made of metal, and therefore conducts heat outwards more efficiently than a plastic back, meaning you feel it getting 'hot to the touch'. I imagine if it had been made from plastic and therefore felt cooler to the touch (yet retaining more heat internally) you would have given it 5/5.
You literally couldn't make it up.

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,Imagine the furore if the iPhone ran hot to the touch. The HTC One is really hot in use - that is not perfect build quality.

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,It's a good phone in low-light conditions. Standard elsewhere. And we've been in this office for about five years during which I have been in the Flyer, I think, once! We're all about Mabel's Tavern.

Luke said: Comments,Luke,"occasionally noisy as you might expect from a camera with such a low pixel count"The above quote would be the part that is "wrong". The amount of pixels within the image do not effect how much noise is produced and you're likely to find much more noise in phones sporting cameras with higher pixel counts.

Grazza D said: Comments,Grazza D,The church is looking a little bit warped in the second pic! I'm still not convinced by the camera at all, otherwise it's a nice phone.

Matt Egan said: Comments,Matt Egan,Exactly what is wrong with the passage you quote?

DANILOBORICUA said: Comments,DANILOBORICUA,I am so in love with this new HTC ONE! It is an almost perfect phone and a lot of innovation. I think I'll buy it when it goes on sale. It is a phone with a beautiful design and outstanding quality. Bye, bye S4!